Features
Truth card
To you, I would wholly recommend the SL55. But what would we make of the great man if he were seen driving a car that we all knew as not the most powerful example of its type? He might appear reasonable, cautious, possessed of restraint or capable of good judgement, in which case we may as well have carried on with William Woolard.
Imagine if you saw that Jeremy Clarkson off the telly coming towards you in a Merc SL. You'd think 'There goes Jeremy Clarkson in an SL. That'll be the 65.' Then imagine your disappointment when, in the mirror, you read the damning legend GMA 55LS. It would be a bit like discovering that Patrick Moore doesn't own a telescope.
I've pointed this out to him, but we've played Car Dealership Shopping Dare once before, and now he doesn't believe me. He thinks I'm just trying to make him buy an SL65 so that I can laugh at him and write a column about how he bought the wrong car. But I'm not. This time, I really do think he should have one.
Only today - and I can't think what's come over him - he pointed out that one-year-old SL65s have plummeted in value because of the credit crunch, rising fuel prices and the nervousness surrounding big, over-powered cars for knuckle-headed exhibitionists totally out of touch with the harsh economic and social realities of the times. His reasoning is that if he buys one at all, it should be a used one.
'For once, I am concerned about my friend and colleague; I hope you are too'
Again, this would send out the wrong message, not least because it would suggest that Clarkson is in touch with the harsh social and economic realities of the times. He is, as I have impressed upon him, an ambassador not just for Top Gear, for motoring, for liberty and for optimism, but for Jeremy Clarkson too. Driving a used Mercedes to save money will make him look weak-minded. Where would it end? Diesel.
For once, I am concerned about my friend and colleague; I hope you are too, and will exhort him at every opportunity to buy a new SL65 AMG. He owes it to us to do the decent thing, and the thing he secretly wants to do anyway.
Most importantly of all, though,I want him to be happy.
Honest.
Bookmark with:
What are these?